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As Desperation In Gaza Grows, Israel Says It Won’t Allow Aid To Flow Until Hamas Releases Hostages
APOSTALEM — On Thursday, while Israel’s military struck the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with airstrikes and made preparations for a potential ground invasion, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed American support for Israel. With Palestinians attempting to replenish dwindling supplies of bread and groceries, Israel declared that no goods could be imported into Gaza until Hamas militants released the 150 hostages they had captured during their murderous incursion over the weekend.
After Israel obstructed the entry of supplies from Egypt and halted shipments of food, water, fuel, and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants, international aid organizations warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis. Each party has lost a minimum of 2,700 lives in the conflict.
According to a statement made by Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz on social media, until the Israeli hostages are returned home, not a single electricity switch, tap or fuel truck will be allowed to access the area.
Thursday, an Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, informed reporters that forces are “preparing for a ground maneuver” if political authorities so require. Due to the dense population concentration on a sliver of land measuring merely 40 kilometers (25 miles), a ground offensive in Gaza would probably inflict even greater casualties on both parties through vicious house-to-house combat.
Hamas militants have launched thousands of missiles into Israel as Israel bombards Gaza from the air. Amid concerns that the fighting could extend throughout the region, Syrian state media reported that international airports in Aleppo, the northern city of Damascus, and Damascus itself were rendered inoperable by Israeli airstrikes on Thursday.
One could have observed Palestinians fleeing airstrikes in Gaza, frantically traversing the streets while carrying their belongings and searching for a secure haven. As of Wednesday night, approximately 15% of Gaza’s population, or 340,000 individuals, had departed their residences. Most are housed in schools operated by the United Nations, whereas others stay with family members or acquaintances.
People formed lengthy lines at grocery stores and bakeries that ventured to open to stock up before the shelves ran out. Wednesday marked the decommissioning of Gaza’s sole power station due to petroleum scarcity, leaving the region with lights sourced from dispersed private generators.
As Desperation In Gaza Grows, Israel Says It Won’t Allow Aid To Flow Until Hamas Releases Hostages.
Aid officials report that hospitals running low on supplies and are overrun with wounded patients have only a few days’ worth of petroleum before their power is cut off. The U.N. reports that the water cut-off has also resulted in severe water shortages for more than 650,000 individuals.
“Healthcare facilities run the risk of transforming into mortuaries in the absence of electricity,” said Fabrizio Carboni, regional director of the International Committee of the Red Cross. He stated that electricity powers newborn incubators, kidney dialysis machines, X-ray machines, and other devices.
There was no more space for ambulance crews transporting bodies from the rubble of destroyed structures to the mortuary at Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza. There was a queue of dozens of corpses in body bags in the hospital’s parking lot. Strikes have damaged fourteen health facilities, health officials reported Thursday.
“The situation is extremely critical,” stated Mohammad Abu Selmia, the superintendent of the Shifa hospital. “Days in Gaza have never been such as they are at the moment.”
Due to Israel’s region closure, the sole means of accessing or departing is via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Per the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Rafah has not been officially shut down; however, its operations have been impeded due to airstrikes. Egypt has been trying to persuade Israel and the United States to permit fuel and humanitarian deliveries to pass through Rafah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel pledged to “crush” Hamas on Saturday when the militant organization stormed into the country’s southern region and slaughtered hundreds of people, including young people at a music festival and children in their homes. Netanyahu accused Hamas of atrocities such as raping women and beheading soldiers. An independent source did not corroborate his claims.
As Desperation In Gaza Grows, Israel Says It Won’t Allow Aid To Flow Until Hamas Releases Hostages.
Amid national sorrow and retribution demands, the Israeli government is under intense pressure to depose Hamas rather than continue to attempt to contain the organization in Gaza.
Following the conclusion of four prior conflicts, the faction has maintained a firm grip on its governed region since 2007. Near Gaza, Israel has deployed 360,000 reservists, evacuated tens of thousands of inhabitants from neighboring communities, and amassed additional forces. The battle is currently being directed by a new war cabinet, which includes a longstanding opposition politician.
Saleh Al-Arouri, a senior Hamas official, issued the following threat on Thursday: “Any Israeli invasion of Gaza would be catastrophic for its army,” and the organization would be ready to retaliate.
Blinken’s visit emphasized the United States’ support for Israel’s response.
“You may be capable of defending yourselves, but as long as the United States of America exists, you will never have to,” Blinken said following a meeting with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. “We shall perpetually stand by your side.”
On Friday, Blinken is scheduled to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose authority is limited to portions of the occupied West Bank.
Palestine annexed the West Bank, Gaza, and eastern Jerusalem during a 1967 conflict. Palestine desires all three territories for its future state, but peace negotiations have been suspended for more than ten years.
As Desperation In Gaza Grows, Israel Says It Won’t Allow Aid To Flow Until Hamas Releases Hostages.
Overnight strikes in Gaza, according to the Israeli military, targeted Hamas’ elite Nukhba forces, including command centers utilized by the fighters in Saturday’s assault and the residence of a senior Hamas naval operative, which the military claimed was used to store unidentified weaponry. Two commanders of two smaller militant organizations were slain in additional airstrikes, according to media outlets affiliated with those groups.
“At this time, our primary objective is to eliminate their senior leadership,” stated Hecht, the military spokesman regarding Hamas. “In addition to the military leadership, the governmental leadership as well, including Yehia Sinwar, the highest-ranking Hamas leader.”
Israel has adopted a novel strategy of demolishing entire neighborhoods instead of merely specific structures. According to Hecht, targeting decisions were determined by intelligence, and civilians were warned.
Palestinians claim that despite the warnings, some have been unable to escape or are stranded and that entire families have been engulfed in debris.
The Associated Press obtained drone footage that unveiled the destructive extent of the Shati refugee camp in the northern region of Gaza due to airstrikes that occurred overnight. Residents searched for survivors while clearing debris with their bare hands. A man collapsed into the embrace of a fellow resident upon learning that his family members who had gone missing had been identified as deceased.
As Desperation In Gaza Grows, Israel Says It Won’t Allow Aid To Flow Until Hamas Releases Hostages.
Early Wednesday morning in the Bureij refugee camp, Jaber Weshah, a 73-year-old rights activist, stated that a strike that destroyed a multi-story building adjacent to his occurred without warning. Residents reported that at least twelve people were murdered, including a bookseller, his wife, two toddler daughters, and six members of another family.
“It resembled an inferno,” stated Weshah.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, two Palestinians were killed in the West Bank on Thursday when Israeli settlers opened fire at a funeral for three individuals slain in a settler rampage the day before. Jewish settlers in automobiles were captured on film swerving into the funeral procession, cutting off the road, and then halting and opening fire.
Since Saturday, the Health Ministry reports that over twenty Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and two in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem; most of these fatalities were caused by police fire upon stone-throwing demonstrators.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of fatalities in Gaza surpassed 1,400.
More than 1,300 people, including 247 soldiers, have been slain in Israel, according to the Israeli military, a staggering number not seen since the weeks-long war with Egypt and Syria in 1973.
Both parties have suffered thousands of casualties.
According to Israel, approximately 1,500 Hamas militants were slain within its borders, with hundreds of those killed in Gaza being Hamas members.
SOURCE – (AP)
News
Canadian Man Arrested for TikTok Video That Threatened Trudeau
A TikTok video that went live earlier this week has led to a Toronto man facing charges of threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Andrew Marshall, 61, is facing two counts of uttering threats.
On Friday afternoon, the Ontario Court of Justice granted him bail with a surety and restrictions after the RCMP charged him on Wednesday.
Following Monday’s upload to TikTok, CBC Toronto conducted its own independent investigation of the video. Marshall vehemently opposes what he perceives as restrictions on free expression in Canada in it.
“I get them taken down all the time— I make videos — or all my comments, that are just simple comments,” Marsh says in the TikTok. “It’s just getting ridiculous, Marshall said.”
According to the CBC more and more people are threatening politicians. The commissioner of the RCMP has hinted that further measures may be necessary to ensure their safety.
In the TikTok video, Marshall explains in great detail how he would brutally assassinate Trudeau and Freeland “if it was up to him.”
Marshall attacks multiple groups throughout the roughly 11-minute TikTok video, including the media, Muslims, migrants, and the police who defend the government.
Among Marshall’s bail terms are the following: he must not communicate with Trudeau or Freeland; he must not use the internet to make social media posts or comments; he must not own any weapons; and he must not apply for a firearms permit.
During the bail hearing, the prosecution provided all of the evidence that is often not published.
Nate Jackson, Marshall’s attorney, stressed his client’s liberties and privileges as a Canadian in an email message.
“He has the right to freedom of speech, the right to reasonable bail and the right to a fair trial,” he said. “Having secured his release from custody, we will continue to defend Mr. Marshall’s Charter rights as his case proceeds.”
Neither Freeland’s nor the prime minister’s office would comment on the allegations, according to the CBC.
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Canada’s Unemployment Rate Hits its Highest Point Since 2017
As the job market remains dismal, the national unemployment rate in Canada has risen to its highest point since 2017. This has led some analysts to question whether the Bank of Canada should be reducing interest rates more quickly.
In spite of a net gain of 22,000 jobs, Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the unemployment rate increased to 6.6% from 6.4% the previous month. The rise was due to an uptick in part-time employment and a fall in full-time employment.
Outside of the pandemic years, the national unemployment rate has reached its highest position since May 2017, according to StatCan.
Rapid population expansion in Canada has increased the overall labour pool, but the country’s unemployment rate has persisted in rising.
The summer job market was especially tough for students, according to StatCan. Not including the pandemic, the unemployment rate among students going back to school in the autumn was 16.7 percent, which is the highest level since 2012.
Two days after the Bank of Canada dropped interest rates for the third time in a row, reducing borrowing costs to alleviate economic pressure, the most recent reading of the Canadian job market follows suit.
According to TD Bank economist Leslie Preston, who wrote a note on Friday, the central bank is “giving the OK” to keep dropping rates due to the bad August jobs report. Preston predicts two more quarter-point decreases at the remaining decisions this year.
According to CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham, there are indications that the labour market is quickly contracting more than initially thought, since the unemployment rate is nearly two percentage points greater than the record low of 4.9% in June 2022.
“Due to this, we believe the Bank should be contemplating a quicker rate of reductions in order to bring interest rates to less restrictive levels,” he informed clients in a letter on Friday morning.
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US Job Growth Falls Short of Expectations: Economy Struggles Under High Interest Rates
Last month, job growth in the United States was weaker than predicted, prompting concerns that the world’s largest economy is beginning to struggle under the weight of increased interest rates.
The Labour Department said that employers added 142,000 jobs in August, which was less than the nearly 160,000 economists predicted. It also stated that job gains over the preceding two months were weaker than expected.
However, the jobless rate went down to 4.2%, down from 4.3% in July.
The report is one of the most important indicators of the US economy and arrives at a vital time, as voters consider presidential candidates for the November election and the US central bank contemplates its first interest rate decrease in four years.
Analysts said the latest statistics kept the Federal Reserve on pace for a rate drop at its meeting this month, but did little to answer worries about the trajectory of the US economy or how much of a cut it should make.
“There has rarely been such a make-or-break number; unfortunately, today’s jobs report does not completely resolve the recession debate,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.
Soaring prices in 2022 caused the Federal Reserve to hike its key lending rate to 5.3%, a nearly 20-year high.
Faced with increased borrowing costs for homes, vehicles, and other debt, the economy has slowed, helping to alleviate pressures that were boosting inflation but exacerbating market concerns.
As inflation has fallen to 2.9% in July, the Fed is under pressure to decrease interest rates to prevent additional economic deceleration.
Although job increases in August fell short of expectations, they were greater than in July, when a slowdown aroused anxieties and triggered several days of stock market volatility.
Last month, construction and health-care firms hired the most, while manufacturing and retailers laid off employees.
Ms Shah stated that the data in Friday’s report was mixed, but provided enough concerning indicators that the Fed should make a larger cut.
“On balance, with inflation pressures subdued, there is no reason for the Fed not to err on the side of caution and frontload rate cuts,” she told reporters.
Others, however, felt the advances were just steady enough to warrant a 0.25 percentage point decrease, as markets had long projected – though this could signal more cuts than expected in the coming months.
Paul Ashworth, Capital Economics’ senior North America economist, predicted that the Fed’s decision will be “close run.”
“The labour market is clearly experiencing a marked slowdown,” he said, adding that the new statistics were “overall still consistent with an economy experiencing a soft landing rather than plummeting into recession”.
Concerns about the economy are a major issue in the US election.
According to polls, a majority of Americans feel the US is in a recession, despite healthy 2.5% growth last year.
Donald Trump has declared that the economy is headed for a “crash,” and his team instantly latched on the latest data to criticise Vice President Kamala Harris, publishing a press release titled “warning lights flash as Kamala’s economy continues to weaken.”
Democrats have defended their performance, claiming that the United States survived the pandemic and inflation better than many other countries.
They believe the slowdown is a sign that the economy is returning to a more sustainable rate of growth following the post-pandemic boom.
“Although hiring has slowed, the US job market continues to generate solid job gains and wage growth that is consistently beating inflation,” the White House Council of Economic Advisors stated in a blog.
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